A line in the sand has been drawn by writers, publishers, editors, agents, and readers. You are instructed to follow that line. Sometimes it is necessary to step off the line to pursue a better path, not easier, just better. And, of course, those lines that have been drawn don't always follow the same paths.
I have had the opportunity to watch a friend enjoy The Lord of the Rings in written form for the first time. He's made several comments about the writing style, which brought to mind a few things Tolkien did that are well off those lines in the sand. Considering those lines were different in the 1950's, it really brings to light to ever-changing world of our language.
He screamed. She screamed. It screamed. They screamed.
"Oh my gosh! If one more person screams, I'm going to!"
It has been a few days since I read that classic series, but apparently, the father of modern fantasy was quite fond of that speaker attribute. It is a practice that breaks two of the guidelines that I follow:
1 - Try not to repeat phrases, words, etc. multiple times.
The reason is clear, just from my friends reaction to the screaming fellowship.
2 - Construct the exposition and dialog in a manner that, in most cases, speaker attributes can be dropped altogether.
That is so easy to say.
One of those dreaded catch-words in the writing industry "voice". That word annoys me almost as much as "muse", unfortunately it applies to this discussion. If your characters have distinctive voices, such as dialog mechanics unique to him or her (or even it), then the reader will have an automatic sense of who is speaking. At that point the speaker attribute becomes moot.
I know; easy to say, hard to accomplish. I suppose this would force some of us to step away from our tablets, keyboards, or typewriters, and actually (gulp) engage real, living, humans in conversation. Pay attention to how people speak. Some will use "proper Kings English", other's litter their speech with and's, but's, well's, like's, and slang, and then there are those that are walking Webster's and Thesaurus's. How can you use these real world examples and infuse them into the voice's of your characters?
Read your dialog without the attributes. Can you tell who is speaking? Can you tweak the dialog so that you can?
He screamed. Wow, you want the reader to understand that Jorge screamed, don't you need that attribute? Maybe. Maybe not. Remember what I have said about guidelines. This can be more difficult than giving your character a voice, but in a lot of cases it can be done, but keep in mind that sometimes it just can't be avoided. If your antagonist is standing on a dingy in a gale wind with quarter sized raindrops pelting his yellow raincoat, the reader expects them to speak at an elevated level. The "he screamed" then becomes a "duh" moment for the reader.
Does the exposition that leads to the dialog lead the reader to expect the character to scream? Can this be done? Should this be done?
Sometimes she needs to scream. The key for the writer is to recognize when the scream is already inferred. Speaker attributes can either hinder, or help the rhythm of the story. Read your dialog aloud. Listen to yourself and you should recognize when that attribute has gotten in the way.
He said.
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